Streaking Rays shut out Blades

January 23, 2012

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. - Nick Tabisz scored twice, while goaltender Daren Machesney made 30 saves to earn his first shutout this season to help lead the South Carolina Stingrays to a 3-0 victory over the Florida Everblades Sunday. The win is the ninth straight for the Stingrays.

The Stingrays received an early power play in the game and took advantage of it. A shot from the right wing boards was stopped by Florida goaltender Pat Nagle, but the rebound was batted into the net by Nick Tabisz for the score. The Rays would take the 1-0 lead into the first intermission.

In the second, Tabisz struck again at 2:43 of the period. The Stingrays fired a wobbling puck toward the net of Nagle, who tried to clear the puck out of the zone on a pass out to center. However, Nagle did not see Tabisz along the left wing board and the pass went to the Stingrays forward who immediately fired the puck into the open net for the goal to put the score at 2-0.

Machesney stymied the Everblades in the third period, stopping all 11 shots faced in the period. Johann Kroll added an empty-net goal late to seal the 3-0 victory.

Nagle takes the loss stopping 30 of 32 shots faced, while Machesney earns his first shutout this season stopping all 30 shots in the contest.

The Everblades return home to open a six-game homestand Wednesday against Greenville at Germain Arena.